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Fall is here, and students, teachers, and parents are marking the start of another school year. As the first months of school unfold, it’s a great time to engage young people in setting a tone of acceptance, inclusion, and safety on campus.
Not In Our School videos highlight real students across the country who are role models and “upstanders” against bullying and intolerance. NIOS videos show what can be possible when students and teachers work together to transform their campus. We’ve seen the films inspire young people to start their own campus-based NIOS activities and events.
The videos listed below are part of Palo Alto Unified School District’s annual “Not In Our School Month” campaign which encourages students to talk about and take action against hate. Although many of our resources are geared towards middle and high school students, some activities can also be tailored to elementary school students.
Here are a few ways educators and students are putting Not In Our School resources into action on their campuses.

By Kirthi Nath
Baltimore, MD: On August 18, 2009, 76-year-old Baltimore resident James Privott was brutally attacked by three men while fishing with his wife at Fort Armistead Park. As the couple was packing up their fishing gear, three men assaulted James Privott with a sledgehammer and a bat while shouting racial slurs, including the N-word, and then stole his money and car and fled the scene.

Here’s the latest installment of “Where in the World is NIOT Now?” featuring notable news from Not In Our Town groups, and updates about “Not In Our Town” film screenings across the country.
Fort Collins, Colorado: Reflecting on the rise of hate speech in public discourse, Not In Our Town Alliance member Charlotte Miller wrote a letter to the editor of The Coloradoan, urging residents to stand up and speak out against intolerance:
“We must speak out against hateful speech and propaganda filled with untruths about people who are different in racial, ethnic, religious identity, as well as language use and political beliefs. If you hear someone saying discriminatory or derogatory things about those who differ from them, please speak up and let them know you disagree with them, and discrimination is not OK.”

Press Conference Address from Tony Stewart, Kootenai County Task Force…Editor’s Note: Several weeks ago, Aryan Nations members left recruitment materials and racist pamphlets in neighborhoods in the Inland Northwest area of Washington and Idaho. In response, law enforcement, civic and community leaders from throughout the region held a press conference to speak out against racism and stand together against intolerance. Press Conference Address from Tony Stewart, Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations “As we meet here today, our Inland Northwest communities are once again experiencing the distribution of unwanted, vile hate materials. In recent weeks, there have also been incidents of harassment and violence directed at citizens in both Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.